Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of outputting a message by checking the state of a paper feed tray of a printing apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as the performance of a printing apparatus improves, the number of the types of paper which the printing apparatus can handle increases. Paper is defined by its attributes indicative of the characteristics of the paper such as a size, a basis weight, and surface properties. It is necessary to register the types of paper used for printing in the printing apparatus beforehand, and set, for each paper feed tray, which type corresponds to paper set in the paper feed tray. This is because the printing apparatus performs, based on the set paper types, variable control such as adjustment of a paper conveyance speed, the temperature of a fixing unit, and a density at the time of printing.
In general, the types of paper are registered at the time of shipping as the specifications for which a maker of a printing apparatus considers a normal operating range. Further, a user can also register a new paper type. A user who sets paper in a paper feed tray registers the type of the paper set in the paper feed tray via a UI screen connected to the apparatus. Normally, for example, a list of paper types registered in the printing apparatus is displayed on the UI screen, and the type of paper set in the paper feed tray is selected from the list of paper types, whereby the type of paper is registered for the paper feed tray.
A paper replacement work is carried out in various applications or scenes such as a case where many sheets of paper are used in one job in print-on-demand (POD) and a case where an unspecified number of users use each type of paper as necessary in an office environment. Every time the paper replacement work is carried out, a user needs to operate the UI screen to output a paper type registration screen and to set a paper type. In a case where paper replacement is carried out frequently, not only a user load increases, but also a human error such as forgetting to set a paper type may arise.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-050980 proposes a method for reducing a user load for displaying a paper type registration screen on a UI screen and preventing forgetting to set a paper type by detecting that a paper feed tray is opened and outputting, to the UI screen, the paper type registration screen for the detected paper feed tray.
However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-050980 does not consider with what intention a user opens or closes the paper feed tray. For example, even in a case where the user opens the paper feed tray in order to add paper, the paper type registration screen is output to the UI screen in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-050980. In this case, the user needs to delete the paper type registration screen displayed in the UI screen, and the user load increases.